No Carte Blanche For Stetson

September 14, 1986

I AM as pro-Stetson University as anyone else in this community. As a proud parent of a Stetson graduate with a chemistry degree, I know firsthand what an academically tough, wonderful and prestigious university we have in our midst and how fortunate we are for Stetson's presence in DeLand.

I cannot, however, fathom the wisdom of committing to Stetson now or at any later date a part of nine streets -- or is it now 11 streets? -- in northeast DeLand. Once committed, I believe that these streets are already gone or could be claimed any time the university planners choose.

If we were to be so foolish as to consent to these requests for our streets, who is to say that we would not be called upon again and again throughout the coming years to relinquish more and more of our streets until we blocked the entire northeast section of our city? Extreme? I agree, but so is the whole idea of placing buildings in the middle of our streets to solve growth problems.

Yes, Stetson has a growth problem, as does our beloved DeLand. I am sure, however, that with the excellent supply of intelligence at Stetson, together with that of our civic leaders, we can sit down together and work out a solution that benefits us all.